Mathys Tel just couldn't mark his first appearance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a goal. Given the nod through the middle after starting from the left the previous week at Aston Villa, the Frenchman had a total of seven shots against Manchester United but was unable to find a way past Andre Onana.
Working extremely hard for the Spurs team and causing issues for their opponents, Tel was unlucky not to get the goal his performance deserved in the 1-0 win over the Red Devils. The 19-year-old will be intent on returning to the scoresheet at Ipswich Town this weekend and the Tractor Boys may have to be careful if he's presented with a similar number of chances one week on.
What is going to help the January addition going forward is that Ange Postecoglou's side have been given an attacking boost over the past week. Going so long with having to use the same players in attack due to the amount of injuries that have hit the team hard over the course of the campaign, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert returned to the pitch on Sunday following their respective injury layoffs.
The numbers should be boosted very soon with Timo Werner still to return and Postecoglou mentioning last Friday that it will be "the next two or three weeks" when Dominic Solanke and Richarlison are in a position to play. As the head coach now has the opportunity to rotate, Odobert will have the chance to add to the six appearances he has made for the club since making the move from Burnley in August.
The Frenchman was only on the field for a matter of minutes on Sunday but he was extremely lively in his pitch time and looked keen to make up for lost time. Odobert himself may have only been a Tottenham player for six months but he will have played a key role in helping Tel settle into his new surroundings after leaving Bavaria.
After all, the duo know each other from France Under-21 duty and are in fact good friends. Speaking to SPURSPLAY following his move to the club, Tel opened up on Odobert's words to him prior to his Tottenham transfer.
He said: "Yes I talked with Wilson. He told me: ‘Come, you have to come here’. He's my friend, I played with him for the French team, we're good friends and he told me to come because it's a great team and you will see it's very nice."
Already appearing to have a good relationship away from the pitch, that should only help matters on the pitch when both are in the side together. That could once again be the case on Saturday at Ipswich Town as Odobert is likely to get a decent chunk of action under his belt as Postecoglou revealed last week that he wants those returning to have played "significant minutes" prior to next Wednesday's match against Manchester City.
The ex-Burnley man does give the Australian choice in the final third as he is capable of playing on either flank, with the 20-year-old seeing out Sunday's win over Manchester United from the left. Whether he is operating from the right or the left, Odobert has the quality to supply his fellow countryman and help increase Tel's Tottenham tally.
That will be music to the forward's ears and the hope will be that they can form an exciting partnership in attack that can help shoot Spurs up the league and possibly to Europa League glory. Spurs fans have seen very little of Odobert in action so far but his cameo appearance against Manchester United could just be the start of things to come, which in turn will only be good news for his fellow Frenchman over the coming weeks and months.
Victory over Man United, talking about those fan protests & the Vicario and Maddison's triumphant returns. Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham!